Convinced recovery today for Piazza Affari in the wake of the easing of tensions on the Ukrainian front. The news released by the Interfax agency about the return home of some Russian troops after the end of the exercises helps to cheer up the markets. Yesterday Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky spoke yesterday about a possible Russian invasion on Wednesday and decided to make February 16 a day for Ukrainian national unity. Later an advisor to Zelenskiy’s chief of staff pointed out that the remarks should be interpreted as ironic.
“Our baseline scenario considers that a large-scale Russian military invasion of Ukraine will be averted – reads DWS’s CIO Flash report -. And we only anticipate a sustained increase in awareness of the underlying risk, rather than further significant military escalations.” .
The Ftse Mib closed today near the intraday highs of 26,967 points (+ 2.09%). Stellantis (+ 4.11% at € 17.01) and Unicredit at + 2.13% are among the big names in Piazza Affari today. In today’s board of directors, the CEO Andrea Orcel should give information on the acquisition project of Banco Bpm, which should have taken shape last weekend but which, as Il Messaggero writes, would have jumped due to the leak of news. Among the other banks in rally today Bper (+ 9.15% in the 2,159 euro area) after the Emilian bank signed the contract for the acquisition of Carige. Banco BPM also performed well (+ 2.89%) which remains at the center of M&A items.
Tim was lagging behind (+ 0.41%) who provided an update on the new business plan. 4 business areas have been identified: Business Corporate (which includes large customers and PA, cloud, IoT, cybersecurity), Business consumer (fixed and mobile), Network and TIM Brazil. The growth engines are identified in the Corporate segments (also thanks to the projects linked to the PNRR) and TIM Brazil (thanks to the integration of OI’s mobile assets). The perimeters of the activities are better defined, with the identification of a Corporate area which also includes the cybersecurity business (Telsy) and which is identified as one of the two main growth engines. “It seems to us an industrially correct choice, given that cloud, cyber and IoT will be able to benefit from TIM’s commercial network towards companies and the PA to develop”, comment the Equita Sim experts. “To be verified whether this can lead to a lower speculative appeal on the asset due to the relevance of these activities for national security”, adds the Milanese sim. The largest Italian telecommunications company also remarked that the strategic analysis relating to the fixed network continues, also evaluating a vertical separation model. No mention is made of progress in the evaluation process of the KKR proposal.
Relative weakness also for Saipem (+ 0.53%) with the Court of Algiers which condemned the company at first instance in the criminal proceedings pending since 2019 in Algeria relating, among other things, to the procedures for assigning the LNG3 project in 2008 Arzew. The fine amounts to approximately € 192 million. The outcome of the sentence will determine the recognition in the financial statements as at 31 December 2021 of a charge of the same amount, the payment of which remains suspended following the appeal. Meanwhile, Saipem has undertaken to revise the 2022-2025 strategic plan presented on 28 October, which will be submitted for approval by the board of directors on 15 March 2022.